Jaboukie Young-White is Getting Soft
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If somebody's brave enough to put us in a road trip comedy, I fear how well it would do. I know. I do see it. I see that for us. I see it for us. A kind of playing trains and automobiles moment. Yes. Hey, you said it. From your lips to an exec's ears. From my lips to an exec's ears. That's the name of the episode.

What would be bringing you to New York if you moved here? Jaboukie, you're asking all the right questions. I really love LA. Like legitimately, I think I'm one of the only people in the world who loves LA. I love it there, but I date so much more in New York. Yeah. And like LA dating is a nightmare. It's terrible. I'm sure you know. Oh, 100%. It is like a self-harm ritual. 100%. When I was there for a year, nothing.

Nothing. For you? Yeah, well, the thing is that it's... Okay, this is the thing. When I went out there, it was like all of a sudden I'm talking to these people who are so hot they think the world is a good place. Yeah. And like I...

I don't, I like, I can't relate to that. And I also don't trust it. Yeah. You know, like it was like, it was too, um, the shift that you see in people's eyes when they realize that you're like someone. Oh baby. I can't. After that I get the ick. Like I just can't do that. The thing, the only time I ever have fun at like events or parties in LA is if I can, if I can corner someone's plus one.

The plus ones are where it's at. Are so interesting. Someone's plus one at a party in LA. Their friend from high school, their accountant buddy that they bring around to these things to prove that they know someone normal. Those people, talk to all night. 100%. Love them. Forgot to change my shirt for our episode, so people are really going to know I just did these back to back. That's cool. Everyone's seeing behind the curtain how the sausage is made. I'm doing New York episodes, baby.

How many are you knocking out? I'm doing you and Devin today, and then that's it. I just did...

We did too few banked episodes before I left town for a very long time. And I was like, fuck, I got to either go back to L.A. and skip New York entirely or I have to, like, figure this out. So we're doing this. But I'm so glad you could do it. Yes. I literally love you. Oh, my God. I'm such a fan of yours. You're amazing. I think you're so iconic. I literally – I've told you this before, I think, but the first time I ever saw you, I tell you this. It was in Chicago that, like, one –

It was at the crowd? Try again. It was at the playground? It was at the playground. Yes, yes, yes, yes. It was at the playground and I was... I came... Basically, I was... I was just about to graduate college like two months later and I came to Chicago to see if I was going to like move to Chicago because my plan was to move to New York all along. I had lived in New York in the summers during undergrad and I love New York and...

but then some of my buddies were like, we're going to move to Chicago to do comedy. And I was like, I'll check it out. So I came up and they were like, we got to go to the playground. I guess they knew someone who was putting on the show or something, but you did stand up on it. And I was like,

That guy's a star. Oh my God. I literally turned to my friends and I was like, that person is very fucking funny. Wait, wait, was this undergrad underground? Maybe. Holy shit. Maybe, I think. That is a deep, deep, deep, deep, deep cut. A deep cut. And I even remember a joke you told. I don't know if I've told you this, but you had a joke about, you were wearing two different sneakers at the time. Like two different Jordans. Oh yeah. Two different pairs of Jordans. And you were talking about like, uh.

being followed around at CVS or something and you're like, you think I'm going to steal from you? I'm wearing two different Jordans. It was a very funny, like, I was cracking up. And I was like, I love him. Thank you. And then you moved to Chicago. And then I moved to Chicago. Yeah. Because of you.

I'm not going to take that. I'm not going to take that. No, no, no. That's too much. But no, I did that. Going to that show and kind of being in Chicago, we spent some time at like IO and stuff. And I was like, you know, I do, I love New York, but I had, I had like a feeling that New York would have eaten me alive. 100%. At that age. Yeah. It would have. No, because I wanted to go to New York for school. But then when I looked

back, I'm like, I would have died. Yeah. I would have died. Literally killed me. I did not have the impulse control to live in New York at 18. No. I just didn't. Some people can do that. I couldn't. I was never one of those people. Even at 22. Yeah. Like, when I graduated college, I'm like, I don't know if I would have fully admitted it to myself at the time, but like...

I was not ready to be in New York. It would have eaten me alive. There are like also there's so much legitimate industry here, like agents and managers and shit. Yes. I was not ready for that. I was bad. Yeah. I was very bad at comedy. You know what I mean? See, I got really lucky. So I started in college. And then when I came here, I could just kind of pretend like I just started comedy. Yeah. And everyone was like, you just started and you have like 30 minutes. And I was like, yeah, I know. It's crazy. It's nuts. I don't know. I guess I'm a prodigy. I don't know. I guess I'm the best ever do it. Maybe props.

You went to college in Chicago. Yeah, I did. I went to DePaul. Yeah. Yeah. And then, because you're from outside Chicago? Mm-hmm. Yeah. I'm from Harvey, Illinois. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you for your service. Mm-hmm. Shout out. And I'm saying it. I'm not saying Chicago. I've started recently just claiming the suburb. You're doing something really brave. I'm going to do it. I'm going to make it a trend. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're doing something most people could never. Yeah, no, they could never. I don't even realize. I say I'm from Kansas City. I'm from the middle of, I'm from the country. It's easier because if I say I'm from Chillicothe, Missouri, no one. Right. But I should be more like you. There's also like a whole different slew of stories that people tell themselves about you when you say...

The actual place where you're from. Yeah. You know, I'm always curious. Like, I want to see what that triggers for you. Like, when I say Harvey, Illinois, like, what are you imagining? Because it goes from city to cornfield so fast. Yeah. That I'm like, are you imagining me just like running through a field of wheat? Like, what do you think my childhood was? Like, I don't know. What do you think people think of you? What do I think people think of me? It is so...

Different depending on the person that it's hard to pin down exactly what it is. I never know I think a lot of people think I'm from New York. Really? Yeah, like a lot of people be like well you're from here, right? Very cool. I think that might be part of it. Do you think I mean let's be honest, you know, you're cool, right? I am pretty cool. I think I'm a cool guy. I think also I just have like a resting cool face I think I look a lot more nonchalant than I normally am

I wouldn't clock you as nonchalant. You wouldn't clock me as nonchalant? No, I would clock you as chalant. I'm chalant. I feel like you're somebody who cares. I do care. I think cool is like, to me, I don't ever think someone's cool when they don't give a fuck about anything. I think that person's like disaffected and kind of weird. Right. There's a lot of that going on in New York and LA. But I think you're cool in a way of like, you're just like, I think you've got a good energy. I think you know who you are. I think you're very funny. You know that you're good at what you do, but you're not a sociopath. I think you've just got a nice, you know what I'm saying? Right, right, right. I think you're on the level. It's even-keeled. It's even-keeled. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think you're cool.

I can say the same about you. Well, we'll go ahead. You're locked in. No, you... Listen, I've seen the clips. I've seen the clips. You're all over my TikTok. I feel like you... You're locked in. Like, you're present. You're grounded. You're in the moment. You're smart. You're tactful. Like, it all comes across. Thanks, babe. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm trying. Yeah, I think... I think I'm pretty...

I think I know what I'm up to. I think I feel pretty at peace with my whole thing. Yeah. Do you know what I mean? How old are you? I'm 29. Yep, that's the time. Is it? That's the time. You think? I just turned 30. Congratulations. Yes, thank you. What'd you do? I really just treated myself. I really just treated myself. I got a massage. I got some new fragrances. Did a little shopping.

Come on. And then just like throughout the week, just saw friends and stuff like that. Like throwing a party can be so stressful. Yeah. And I do that every like five years or so. Yeah. And maybe for the 31st.

30 felt a little too sweaty for me. Yeah, I was like I want to hit the off note like 31. Yeah the 31. Yeah, right like I'm already here. I'm already here. I'm past the precipice Yeah, we're in it. Well, you've arrived. Yeah, we've arrived at 31. We've arrived. Yes. Yes I am NOT a big birthday person. I've never been a big birthday guy But last year 29 or this year, I guess January my birthday. When's your birthday? July 24th. July 24th. Yeah the day of July 24th. I

I threw three birthday parties for myself. Whoa. For 29. It was this weird thing where like the week of my birthday, I just schedule wise was meant to be in New York, LA and Kansas City. Like I had to like, I often will stop in Kansas City going between. That's where your house is. Yeah, I bought a house in Kansas City. And so I'll stop in between going either way just because it breaks up the flights and it's like a good excuse to like see my family and stuff. Right.

But I was meant to be in all three in one week. And I was like, the week of my birthday, I'm going to be in all three places where I have like the most like loved ones and friends and stuff. Right.

So I threw a party in all three and it was psycho. And as a not birthday person, it was really kind of uncomfortable as well. But I really went, I was like, if I'm doing it, I'm doing it. I got like fucking photo booths. Whoa. And I like did like, I made a jungle juice at an LA party. There was a step and repeat. Baby, there was a step and repeat. I had a photographer. I did my New York one at Bell House because I had a show. Oh, okay. So I was like, we'll just stay afterwards. And Bell House was cool enough to let me. And then, yeah, I mean, my Kansas City one was low key, but like LA and New York were nuts. Mm-hmm.

And it was interesting being a birthday person for once. I was like, this is a... A birthday person is such a different type of person than me, I think. Yeah. Who is that person? A birthday person is somebody who... Well, I view birthdays kind of the way I view weddings. Where I'm like, if you're really excited about either of them, you don't get celebrated a lot.

And not in a bad way, but like as performers we get celebrated a lot. Yes, yes. People stand and watch and clap at us a lot. It's the job. You know what I think it also is maybe when I take a step back and I think about it, it's that for my birthday I'm like, okay, I didn't do anything. Yes. Like I do things to get applause all the time. Like this kind of feels like cheating a little bit. Mm-hmm.

I feel that way. That's a good point. That's a good point. I think we, it almost feels, and I don't know if this is valid or not. Maybe this is something I need to work on. I'm open to that. But I do think, to your point, like, it feels like birthdays, weddings, any kind of attention for that kind of stuff, it feels like

It feels like clapping at a joke instead of laughing. You know what I mean? It's like you're paying attention to me and I don't really deserve it. Yes. Yeah. Like I didn't earn this. I just showed up today. Yeah. Yeah. Do you know what I mean? What do you mean you're loving me for my inherent worth? Because I lived another year. Like I'm falling asleep. I should be telling a joke or something. Right. Right. Right. Do you know what I mean? Maybe we should just do sets.

At our birthday parties. Now we're talking. Do you want a wedding? No. Are you in a relationship? No. How? Well, it just ended. No worries. Hey, no worries at all. This was so much fun, Jaboukie. Thank you for coming in. It was a lot of fun. Do you have any Kleenex? No.

No, I think I'm good. It ultimately just came down to like just wanting different things and like, you know, when you're in it and it is working to a certain extent, but you kind of know you have two different visions for the future. Yeah.

it's like at a certain point you just have to decide, all right, well, we're going to go chase our two different visions of the future. Yeah. And that's kind of what it came down to. We're going to go chase our two different visions of the future is very beautiful. I think that's a pretty way to put it. We need to put that in some live, laugh, love font. Let's go. Let's me and you get into final draft and see what we can do with this. It's interesting, though, to think about sometimes when you have that dynamic with somebody like,

You know, even if you're just dating somebody pretty casually, like you've been on a couple of dates and you know, they're not your person, but they're cute and you're having a good time. You like making out with them, whatever you go dancing and it's fun. The math for me has started to get shorter and shorter on how long I just let it be fun. Do you know what I mean? Like when I was 22, if I enjoyed dancing and making out with someone, I'm like, we could do this for a year, you know? And now I'm like, maybe like a month and I'm like,

Better be getting to the guy. I better be getting to the guy who I'm actually going to do this with. You know what I mean? We did our little Nick and Nora infinite playlist five times now. When is it getting serious? Do you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. It's getting like, okay, I can't really be entertaining this. The window is shorter. But it's also like the fireworks phase. You've been through so many of those at that point that it's not new anymore. I don't know. It's kind of, it gets old hat.

It's old hat to be falling in love. It's a little on the nose. It's so hacky. Yeah. It's so hacky. What do I look like? Right. Hanging out with this person that I enjoy. Okay, I got butterflies when we kissed. Okay, cool. Okay. All right. So you're like a ton of fun and I enjoy spending time with you. You're gorgeous and my stomach drops when I look at you, whatever. Fuck you. So, yeah. So I accidentally brought up a breakup. That's a good thing on the show, I think. That's helpful for the interview. Yeah, tactful. I said you were tactful. Yeah. Yeah.

I said why. You said, well, we just broke up. Humiliating of me. But I do. I kind of do like doing that. I like just, you know, going for it. Because really, at the end of the day.

It was nothing. Yeah. You know what I realized recently? Sometimes I'll watch cringe comedy and I won't laugh because I'm like, well, they just made a mistake and people do that all the time. Like there's some part of me that's like, I don't really see why that's funny. I think they were being vulnerable and I don't know if we should laugh at that. I think I've been getting softer the older that I get. Do you think so? I think so. Are you a soft person in general? No, not really. I don't see you as a super soft person. No, but then I think, I don't know.

I was talking about this with someone recently. It's like, um, all my memories feel like coming of age movies now because I have enough emotional maturity to project so much weight onto like trivial things in my past that maybe if I went back and relived it, it actually wouldn't be that weighty, but there's like a full a 24 filter on so many of my memories at this point. You know what I mean? Do you feel that? We do. Yeah. Like the wistfulness is getting really intense, really intense. Yeah. And the like, um,

the like montage washing of like that six brutal months that I went through being reduced to like the two times I cried beautifully on the train. You,

You know what I mean? Where I'm like, it wasn't all that pretty, my friend. You know what I mean? But I so like series of shot wash my things I've been through, especially in my early 20s. Yeah, I don't know what that is. I don't know if everyone does that or if that's like being like a writer. I don't know what we're doing, what our brains are doing that for. That's true. Maybe it's our profession is just doing that to us. Every time something happens to me, I think like,

Another piece of the war. I'm like, God, I'm going to probably talk about this in a couple months on stage, which is sick. You were really good with that when I saw you, when you did the Union Hall show that I had.

Oh, with talking about my life? Yeah, but I really liked the storytelling aspect of it. Thank you. Yeah, it was really captivating. That was a fun show. I don't remember what I talked about on that show. But I do remember, I think this was your show. That was a week where I was doing a lot of spots. And I think this was yours because it was one that I only did a couple at Union Hall. You were so nice to let me jump on your show. And I don't know if this was your show or not. But like three weeks after I did, I think, your show, I get on Instagram and

which is one of those classic fatal mistakes. And I see a clip of me, like a standup clip of me. And I don't do stand. I don't post standup clips. I did at one point, but really stopped doing it. And someone had like full, like camcorder recorded my set and,

edited it what put captioning on it like made it into a stand up clip from that set it was either yours or another union hall show I did but it was like very clear that they were not like sanctioned they were just like doing it on their own and then like edited it as a stand up clip and posted it material I was working on like not even like cause you know that show I was like I was improvising I was trying stuff out

This is not even settled material. That is so dark-sided. That's crazy. Because that's actual real theft. Yes. Because they're doing it the way that comedians do their own clips for engagement. They actually stole that from you. And they tagged me, and so I messaged them, and I was like...

Hey, I'm sure you thought you were being helpful by doing this. Like, no big deal at all. Would you mind deleting it just because that's like material I'm still working on and I don't know what I want to do with it. And they're like, oh my God. Yeah, no worries. I'm a comic as well. So I just thought it would be. I was like, you're a comic as well? You're a stand up and you did that? So was the page just like stand up, haha, funny clip. So like, what was it? It was her personal page.

And she was like posting clips and she had one of Jared Goldstein as well. Oh my God. And I don't remember if I, if I told, I remember I told Jared or not, or if he had told me, I think we talked about it at one point, but it was just the craziest thing. And I was like,

I haven't thought about it since then. But you bringing up that show made me remember that someone did that. You know, I've had... I did a show once where someone, like a parent at a kindergarten recital had their iPad just recording the entire time. And like the first minute of this, I'm like, okay, like get your story, whatever. But I was like four minutes in and I noticed that

They just still had it. And I was like, I'm not going to keep going until you shut that off. Yeah. Like, you have to turn that off. That's really crazy. Why do you need that? I feel surveilled right now. It's insane. I don't feel comfortable. It's also, like, defeating the purpose of this live show that we're doing right now, this one time. Yeah. And, like, sharing this moment together. That's wild that they would...

Do that. That's really crazy. It also defeats the thing you're talking about, about like the experience we're having in this room right now. I decided to stop posting clips because I was doing, I posted some standup clips and then I did, I tried the crowd work thing and I enjoyed it. And I really love crowd work. I like talking to the audience, but,

But it just felt posting it felt for me and it's no shade to anyone who does it genuinely. For me, it made me feel very disingenuous. And like I was selling out the relationship that I created with the people in the room. Yeah. To me. And I'm not saying that it overall is, but that's how it made me feel. And so I stopped. And so someone, yeah, posting my stuff. I'm like, I actually think stand up for me is a, it's a live art form meant to happen in the room. And maybe I'll do a special or something, but like,

The constant posting of it all the time is there are people who do it very well. Stavros Halkis does it amazingly. He's so good at it. And I find it to be an art form in its own the way that he does it or Matteo Lane. There are people who do it very well. But it feels like for someone to do that on your behalf when I don't like it was like –

Even more of a crime against what we had like made together. You know what I mean? It just felt so crazy. You know what's wild is that Chris Delia posted a clip on. You love him, right? You guys work very closely together. So we're best friends actually. And I stand by everything that he's ever said or done. He posted a clip on Twitter like bashing crowd work. And I just thought it was so funny that that's the big splashy comeback that he deserves.

That's the big swing. That's where he's like coming in and planting his flag like right there. I'm going to win him back with this one. Yeah, yeah. Like, okay. He said, hey, I know y'all weren't crazy about my s***. Allegedly. But y'all are going to love the way I take comedy to task real quick.

I too love that as a swing. That's really fun. Yeah, yeah, the crowd work of it all. But yeah, I feel the same way about live performance. I like, I think that's what always drew me to stand up was like we're creating something together and it's so precious and luxurious in the fact that it is one of a kind and it does not exist after this. It's like that's what's so special about it. And I especially feel now, especially like the way that we spend so much time online and blah, blah, blah.

Those live moments become so much more weighty when they actually go well. It's transcendent. It really is. I really actually love stand-up and live comedy a lot, as much as I also hate it at the same time. You're so good at it.

You're very talented. Thanks. It is also, I've come to think of it as like the only thing they can't take from us. Yes. I'm like, this is the only, you can not cast me in a million movies. Right. You can not fund my projects. You can, like anything can happen in a career. Things happen to people all the time that are not ideal. 100%. The only thing that cannot be taken from me is that I can stand up in a room of people and make them laugh. Yes. You cannot change that. No one can take that.

And that is a really beautiful, I feel the same way about someone who can play guitar really beautifully. You can get up and by just moving these strings you can make beautiful sounds. That can't be taken from you. That's so beautiful. You're doing a lot of spots recently. Are you prepping for something? I am. I'm doing a show at New York Comedy Festival. I'm doing an hour. When?

I think it's November 14th to 17th. I think that's it. I'm doing a few shows at the Hard Rock. Come on now. Yeah, all right. Come on, Hard Rock. I'll probably do like, you know, I'll do some stand up. I might do like a song or two, like a new like funny little bit song or something, which is new for me. Yeah. Doing like musical comedy.

I know, I've heard some of your music. Yeah, but it wasn't necessarily jokey. That's what I was thinking. I was like, you just make good music. Thank you. But then you also are going to do some comedy stuff. Right. I think I might, because I haven't done that before, but a lot of the stuff that I've been doing recently, I've just been so like, I just want to have some fun. So I think I'll probably do that. I might do a country song. I kind of want to do that. I would love to hear that. I wanted to ask you, what is it like doing the coastal thing and then doing the Kansas City thing?

Amazing. Yeah. Kansas City... I mean, I talk about it a lot on here. I'm sure the listeners are sick of it. But I just... I adore Kansas City. It's the best, and it's very...

It's very grounding to just like, I love New York and LA as places. And I do, I've come to really love New York and LA in a new way, like still as cities that don't have anything to do with my career. But then also the knowledge that they are deeply tied to my career is another part of it. But I think like LA and New York become so like,

They become so about the thing you do. And that's great. That's a privilege. It's a huge privilege. But I do start to feel crazy. And I start to feel like self-obsessed. And I start to think about myself all the time. And then when I go to Kansas City, it's just like a nice check back in with reality of like –

New York and LA are also my reality and my job is also my reality. But the truth of the matter is instead of getting so spun out about like not getting a TV show or something, which happens to me a lot, not to brag, it happens to all of us a lot. But yeah, I mean, I used to get so spun out and then I started going back to Kansas City more really when my dad died and like was really feeling like I kind of feel like

My career doesn't matter that much. It's like a cool thing and I want it. I like what I do and I want to do more of it at a higher level. But also like the perspective of like there's a whole real world that exists outside of our little bubbles. Yes. Really like grounds me in reality. 100%. Nicely. I for work was in Little Rock.

Love Arkansas. Yeah, and we went to Hot Springs. Oh, Hot Springs. It was gorgeous. Oh, it's beautiful. Yeah, yeah. Did you just swim? Was it like swimming weather? No, no, no, no, no. No, I don't think it was. But we did go to like a little like natural spring spa thing. And it's just nice like, yeah, seeing people outside of that orbit. It's like it opens your eyes. That's nice. Yeah. How long were you in Little Rock? Like a month.

Yeah. Damn. It was interesting. You're really acting lately. I have been. You're working. I have been. I really just decided to just, okay, I'm going to act for a while. I'm going to do it. You have been too, though. I'm here and there. How do you like it? I love it. Yeah? I love it. Set's hard. It is. Production is very hard. People don't talk about how it's mostly waiting. It's mostly waiting, and it's also, I have a deep, like,

We got to make these days shorter. Not for me, but for the people who are working all fucking day long. Yeah, yeah. I hear makeup people in the gaffers and stuff. I'm like, how the fuck are y'all working 16 hours? Yeah. It's like, good God. It's wild. And they're not waiting. They're like constantly working. Go, go, go, go, go, go, go. That's nuts. Yeah, yeah. Especially on like indies and stuff. It's like, yo. But-

I do love it. Yeah. But it is really, really, it's a lot. Yeah. And you're doing it a lot lately. Yeah. Are you liking it? I do. I do really like it. Like, I realized one thing about me with everything that I've done is I love doing the thing. Like, I love doing stand-up. I love...

acting like on camera off camera whatever yeah on stage whatever it's everything that i have to do to continue doing that thing that frustrates me yes you know what i mean yes self-tape it's like the self-obsession of like how am i coming across like do i read as this or like that sort of like

self-reflective, navel-gazy kind of thing that you almost have to do. Of course. That drives me crazy. Well, it's nuts. Yeah. It's a nuts thing to think about yourself so often. Right. It's that fucking...

Gemma from girls Instagram story where she's like, I think you guys are thinking about yourselves too much Legitimately like yes. Yeah. Also, it's my career. Yeah, that's psycho to think about yourself crazy. Yeah Well, I asked people on the show a lot. What do you want? Like what do you what is the what is the dream? What do I want? What is your dream? Because the truth is you're a talented musician. You're very talented comedian. Nice guy. People love you Oh my god, you're acting a lot in movies. Things are going well. Yeah, I think you're doing very well. Yeah, and so what what now?

I think the way that I thought of it okay uh when I was in high school I did a speech thank you speech team thank you for your service did you no okay but I know your type yeah yeah I know kids like you I know a guy like you from a mile away yeah yeah yeah so I did speech and I was like a theater kid or whatever so then I ended up going to film school for screenwriting and I was like I will write and

and direct. I'll do the score. I'll do the editing. I'll do everything. Like, so I just kind of wanted to know everything. Like in college, I did some camera, I did some sound. I directed a few shorts in college. I kind of did everything. And now I think over the past like 10 years, I truly have, you know, tasted a little bit from every pot. And I kind of just want to make the thing that

can incorporate all of those things. I think maybe direct. Yeah? To be, like, very succinct. Would you star in the things you direct as well, or would you like to direct without starring in some things? I kind of think I would like to direct without starring. Yeah. I would love... It's way easier. Yeah, right? Have you... You're working on something where you're directing... I just directed a short that I starred in, and it was only two days. We did 15 pages in two days. Whoa. But it was a lot. How was that? It was really intense. I think maybe with a...

a bigger budget and like an actual like time to do something like the normal appropriate amount of time to shoot something, maybe it would be better. I think the next thing I direct, I would like to not be acting in it. Yeah. Personally. That's what I hear from everybody who does that. They'd never do it twice. Like the second one, they're like, I think I'm done. Yeah. I just did it. And I was like, Oh, so is like the second ad watching monitor for you or the first ad or like is, uh, watch it to the producers and, uh, yeah, mostly the producers. And then I would like,

hop off set, go, they would play it back. I would watch the takes. Whoa. And then I would get back in the scene and do it again. Whoa. It was nuts. It was fun. But it was like, the self tape muscle is really used there. God. And it's, it's also brutal because I, you know, you never liked the way you look on camera. You never liked the way you turned that phrase. Yeah. And so you just, but you're also in a hurry because you're shooting 15 pages in two days. Right. And so you're like, there's really no time to be precious. What do you feel like is the pettiest reason that you did another take?

Do you have one? Someone talked over a really funny line that I improvised. And it was not crucial to the scene at all. But it was funny enough that I was like, we're getting that one. Didn't make it in the final cut, by the way. We've already edited it.

But I was like, we're going to do it again. How did you give that note? You were like, okay, so we're going to do it again, but this time you're just going to shut the fuck up. Well, I was like, hey, we're in my coverage on this one, so I'm just going to like, just let me run on some of those lines really quick, if you don't mind. And they were totally cool about it. And I wasn't mad, but I was like, we're going to get it. Improvising on a quick day is the hardest thing, because I'm like, if I have more time, I can make this so funny. I just need like three more takes. But we do not have time. Holmes and I co-wrote it. Do you know Holmes?

At all, Chelsea Holmes? Do you know them at all? Maybe. They go by Holmes. But they are a very, very funny comedian. We co-wrote it and co-starred. Oh, sick. Yeah, it was super fun. We did it in Kansas City. It was a blast. But directing, I'm with you. I want to direct more. Yeah. I like it. It's a lot of fun. It is. It's also very stressful. It is. But in a fun way. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because everything relies on you.

Yeah, you're the guy. Yeah, it's your vision. Everyone is there to serve the vision. Yeah. And it's also a huge responsibility in terms of just like obviously pace, but also like energy and like, yeah, just like you're so stressed, but you have to keep it together. Yeah, and you still have to be like interfacing with people in a way that's respectful and nice. Yeah, and you have to give hard notes. Yeah. It's like, hey, that's not working.

Right. You know, hey, if we could do it this way. Yeah. Yeah. You're giving me sitcom. I need, you know, whatever I need. Would you give the note like that? Or like, how would you? It depends on who it is. There are definitely people that I would like if it was Holmes and I needed something different and it was, it would be easy to be like, you're my best friend. Yeah. I mean, hey, we're given Seinfeld. We need to give a 24, you know, they never needed that. No, but I wish directors would talk to me like that.

I wish. It's giving Seinfeld. I'd be like, got it. Understood. I totally get it. You don't have to tell me twice. I did. I will say I did a movie a couple summers ago that I think is coming out this year. But I had a very dramatic...

I had a very, not dramatic, but like emotional scene. I ultimately played like a teenager who's coming out of the closet. Okay. And yeah, we can all laugh at me playing a teenager. I for sure do not look like a teenager. Everyone's going to watch the movie and they're going to be like, this grown man. Did you have tattoos at that time? No. That'd be hilarious, like with the sleeves. Just a fucking. Sophomore year is so hard. God, I fucking hate homebrewing. Yeah, but I had like a big emotional scene and I was way overacting it and I could feel it. Mm.

And I knew I was overacting it. I just couldn't help myself. There was something about the room and the way it was lit that I was just doing too much. And we did a take and the director, Jordan Weiss, who I love,

yell cut and there was like uh kill come here for a second and i went over there and i was like will you just tell me that i'm doing way too much because i feel like i'm doing way too much and she was like we're doing a lot and i was like yeah how do i stop because i can't there's something about this scene that's not and she's a great director and we really work through it together but it was nice for her to just not bullshit me and be like yeah you're doing a lot yeah you know because it's so nice i think so many people are afraid of actors like everyone on set is kind of like

a little frightened, but I'm so... Like, please be a little rough. Because I'm not going to get it sometimes. Yeah. Like, you might have to cut through a little bit. There's also nothing humiliating about it. Acting is really hard. Yeah. And I don't like when people pretend...

I think mostly from an ego place that like it's impossible that they would be getting it wrong. It's like, no, there's a lot happening between you and the camera and Video Village. And like there's so many different elements that's like, no, and also that's the point of a director is they can tell you like you're giving me Seinfeld and I don't need Seinfeld right now. Right. I think the other thing is too is you could be doing something that totally works in person and on camera. It just translates to something completely different. Yeah. Yeah. It's like, it's like,

It's like stage versus screen as well sometimes. It's like, you know, yelling isn't always the same way you need to yell. Sometimes you need to like fake that you're doing it. Like it's just a lot of moving pieces. Yeah. And I love when someone's like, yeah, you're doing a lot. It's great. I love that. I like that you also were able to see that in yourself. But the thing is, is that when you're overacting, you can feel it. Yeah. Like it just it doesn't feel right. But also it feels like a train wreck and it's like, I don't know how to.

Like how do I stop this? Yeah, like we need a time out. Like what is happening? Time out, I'm actually really good. Time out. Time out, I want to be really good because I'm actually really good. Do you have like grounding things when you're on set, like working those 16-hour days? Like what do you have like a routine like when you get home or like how do you deal with that? No, genuinely it all for me is about going to sleep as soon as I can and then just envisioning how good it's going to feel when it's over.

Like how good it's going to feel when you don't have to do 16 hour days anymore. How much you're going to miss it. Yeah. Like, you know what I mean? And the sense of accomplishment. Yeah. Like, wow, I just did that. When you do something really hard done and then you're like, oh, I did that. Yes. Yes. I love having done. Yes. I love having done everything. Wait, what is your, what is your end goal? What do I want? Yeah. What do you want? What are you doing? What do you think you're doing? I don't know. You're turning this around on me. I'm flipping it back. This is unheard of. Has anyone flipped it back before? I don't think so. Whoa.

People don't ask about me. Oh my God, why? I don't know if they have or not. I don't know. You know what's interesting is this is actually the first episode of this show I've ever done where there's not like an audience. We always have like five or six people in the room. Okay. And so an interesting thing about this episode already, and also just that I'm very like locked in with you, but it's very, like it's been very...

I don't want to say intentional, but I feel like I'm usually doing a lot more bits. Okay. And I'm really locked in with Jaboukie right now. I feel like I'm like, we're here. You know what I mean? No, I feel that. Like, we're talking. We're hanging. We're chatting. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What do I want?

I want to make my stuff. I just want to make movies. I've written a couple scripts that I would love to get made. I'm in the process of getting one of them made right now. I want to work with people that I like and never people that I don't. I have no desire to work with people I don't like. Ever, not even for a day.

I just don't ever want to do it. What if you're working with them and you realize you don't like them? I want it to end quickly. I just don't want to work with people I don't like. And if it's somebody that... You know, there's this thing that happens in entertainment that everyone kind of pretends isn't happening where awful people get ahead. Yeah. And you have to work with them even though they're awful. I have turned down...

because I knew someone I didn't like was going to be there. I just don't want to work with someone I don't like. And it's not that I'm incapable. I've done it. I just don't desire to. It's a really, like, this...

There's no reason that I should be hanging out with someone that is mean or upsetting or like a narcissist. But that's how you know that the Caleb cosign means something. I know. If you have those principles and it's like, oh, well, if Caleb is doing it, there's like a certain... I hope so. Certain ilk that he will only associate with. I hope... Just really mean people is what I'm talking about. And I hope that people... I would like to think that at least my fans are like...

You know, people who like know me in the industry know that I really, really only put on people that I think are great and like nice. If I thought someone was an asshole, I would not be around them just because they were famous or whatever. And I don't think that's by the way like –

I'm not like patting myself on the back. Right. I think that's a really easy thing to do. I don't think it's like a, I'm like a hero, you know? I only hang out with people who are easy to be around. Yeah. Sorry. Deal with it. But I do think it's, yeah, it's for some reason not happening a lot. Like there are people that I just know are like mean. Yeah. That I'm like, why are you around so much? How have you not been kind of gotten out of here? Right. I don't know. I think.

Mean requires a lot of upkeep. I think that's it. It's like you never really meet I feel like the only mean people I see are very type A. You never really see like a type B mean person. Like a relaxed asshole. Like that just doesn't really happen. I feel like mean people are like but that's a part of maybe that's why they're mean is because they care too much and they're like too on top of it. Yeah. Well also deeply and I mean this is like that classic like

thing your like parents would say to you as a kid or something, but like,

deeply insecure. Yeah. Deep insecurity is what most bad behavior comes from, I think. That's so true. Like, just meanness and nastiness and jealousy and pettiness, which, by the way, in small doses are all very funny. But, like, an obsession with meanness and pettiness and jealousy is, like, that... I have never seen it not come from a place of, like, deep self-hatred. Right. Even if it masks as, like, self-obsession and self-love. Yeah, yeah. Like, I can tell you don't like yourself. Right. It's very clear. Yeah. Don't you feel? I do. And nice people are always...

Nice people don't always love themselves, but nice people, I think, are...

are much more like gentle in general on themselves. Yeah, I think the thing that's the most unbecoming about meanness and jealousy and all that stuff is like it's coming from a place of lack and stinginess whereas if you're nice or kind to someone, it's like you actually have so much positivity in your life and goodness that it is nothing for you to just give some to another person. Yeah. But I feel like the meanness is like there's emptiness. Like you're trying to grab onto things and like

scrounge as much as you can to like add up to something that you want to take yeah you want to take it's like that's coming from a place of not having enough who's the nicest person you've worked with recently the nicest person that or like even just someone that you worked with you're like god damn they were nice heli bailey yeah she was really really really sweet how so just like all all the time just like lovely yeah she's just super lovely and just like a sweetheart she's very giggly

And as a comedian, that's always great. Someone who giggles a lot. Yeah. She was just great. She's a baby. The baby was always around. Ah! Yeah. I love that. Yeah, she was really, really sweet. Shout out, Halle. How about you? I've been so lucky. Like, I feel like I've worked with... Like, I really have not worked with a lot of assholes. Kiernan Shipka and Nico Haraga, the two of them. When we did our movie together, I was like...

I was nervous. I was like really kind of nervous because it's like we play like three best friends in it. And I don't know how much of this I can say. I guess I'll text you, Jordan, and see if this is okay. But we play three best friends in it. And I was like, oh, I don't know. They're like hot.

They're like hot young starlets. You know, I was like, I don't know what if they don't like me or like, what if I'm like not, I was really nervous going to that set. Cause I was like, it will be apparent if the chemistry is not there and we're supposed to be best friends. So I really want to like make the chemistry at least believable on camera. Right. And just like two of the like loveliest, like nicest, sweetest people I've ever. It's also a really specific thing being the comedian who is coming into act. Yeah. Like that.

Yeah. Is always kind of like a weird to jump into a little bit. Yeah. Because being an actor is such a completely different life. It's like they, from what we were talking about, they are waiting for someone to give them an opportunity and a job. And I think that there is a level of

Just interacting with other people in the world that changes when that's how you orient to your work. Yeah. I think as a comedian, there's like a... I don't really... No one is really taking me that serious. And also I can kind of just do whatever I want. There's like a freedom in that. Yeah. That I've noticed. There's certain things that I learned I should care about. Yeah. That I just...

did not before. And when you're just the like honestly being in like a number three role where my only job is to be funny I'm like I don't really have to worry about being hot or being anything. My only job is to make like the best possible case on this next take is that I make everyone laugh so hard that we ruin the take. Yes. That's my job. And like that's a great job. Being funny I can do. 100%. I love that job. But I was very nervous. I was like and I don't really get nervous about whether or not

People are going to like me in like social settings. But for some reason, this movie, I think it was the work aspect of it all. It was also the biggest role I'd ever done. And so I was like very like, like it was the biggest time I was in a script. And so I was like, man, if they don't like me, we really have to keep hanging out.

Like, I was like, if they don't like me or if I don't like them, that thing as well. I was like, I don't, I didn't expect to not like either of them. I'd only ever heard lovely things. But so I was more like, if they don't like me, we're really going to be together. And then that's going to suck for them. What do you feel like was the thing that made you want to act, do comedy, do all of it? God. Was there like an origin story moment for you or like?

No, but I will tell you, I don't think there's, because I never did theater or anything growing up. Really? I never did, no. I started performing when I was like 20, really. Really? Yeah. Were people just like, you're so funny. Yeah, I mean, I was always funny. And I will say, the closest thing I have to an origin story is I had this babysitter when I was like,

8 to 10. This babysitter I was with a lot because my mom was working three jobs and putting herself through nursing school. So she was gone a lot. And this babysitter, her name is Teresa. Shout out, Teresa. She served us really bad food. One of the meals she served us was cooked spaghetti noodles and Thousand Island dressing. And she wouldn't let us leave the table until we finished our food because we had to eat. And I...

I hated her food so much. And I remember I was recounting to my mom and my cousin, my older cousin, who was like 10 years older than me, like how bad the food was and like reenacting like how she was making us sit at the table and I was like doing her voice. And they were like calling over other members of the family to hear me do the... And they're like, tell it again from the beginning. And I have a very vivid memory of being like, this is the coolest thing that's ever happened to me. I want this to happen forever. Like just the attention and like the telling of the story.

And then there was another very similar one where like my dad and all my like aunts and uncles were talking about, they were all in school at the time. So they're talking about like what fonts they use on their like papers that they write. They were like, Oh yeah, I use like Times New Roman cause it's a little bigger. It makes the pages go longer or whatever. And I was listening and very earnestly was like, I was like maybe like seven. And I was like, I was like, I like Comic Sans. Yeah.

And I really thought I was contributing because I thought it was a fun, like we just learned in computer class, like different fonts. And of course I liked that one because it's, you know, that goofy little ugly one. Yeah. And they laughed so hard. That was a moment where I was not in on the joke, but even still, it felt good to get the laughs. Right. You liked that. Oh yeah. I was like, awesome. As a kid, I hated that. Really? Yes. I always wanted to know what was so funny. Yeah.

you're annoying us yeah you're like explain it yeah like no tell me could you explain like what about this dynamic is crazy because we're equals i don't know why you're laughing at me that's kind of fucked up so what's so funny i weighed in on the bush administration and you guys are laughing oh my god i remember the thing for me um was i think i was maybe four or five and i had found a bunch of coins i think i had like a hundred pennies and i was like

i have a hundred dollars people were like dying laughing and i was like yeah i'm rich i don't know why you're i'll buy you like why are you

Why are you laughing at me? Dinner's on me, idiot. Yes, and then there was the people laughing thing, and then I was like, this is so fucked up. And then they were like, you have a dollar, you don't have a hundred. I think maybe that being the first time I remember that dynamic, maybe that's why I felt like, no, I need to know what's so funny. Because I lost $99. Yeah.

Like that was really painful. It's the worst thing that could ever happen to someone. I went from being rich to like a total loser. I'm poor. Right. Poor. Five. I can't work. How am I going to get that? I have nothing. Yeah. Yeah. It's all over. So yeah, I don't know. Were you a class clown? I don't know. You don't remember? Like, like, like I, I think at certain points, yes, I was definitely making people laugh, but I don't think like there were, there were definitely kids. When I think of class clown, I think of like,

The kids who were always getting in trouble for being funny. I was usually smart enough to keep it. You were cracking the teacher up. Yeah. I was definitely always talking to the adults. And I could get on their good side. I remember I always found the kids I think of as class clowns were always annoying guys who made jokes that I thought were basic. Do you know what I mean? I distinctly remember in middle school there was a kid who was obsessed with

He like we were in health class and he'd be like, yeah, if you have sex, the girl after she gives birth, it's like throwing a hot dog down a hallway, like really crude, like stupid. And even then I would be like, oh, you're disgusted. I just was like, you're you're an idiot. I was like, you have no ingenuity. Also, you heard that somewhere. That's you're repeating something. Right, right. Like repeating stepbrothers was a big thing. Oh, my God. Remember that? That was a play. That was a play. You know what I used to do? Um.

My parents didn't really watch my media consumption at all because they're immigrants so like they didn't know that they were supposed to I would go to school and just recite Family Guy episodes for people whose parents wouldn't let them watch Family Guy So I'd be like okay so the A story is that Lois is doing this, Brian is doing this and I would just fully recite like adult sitcoms to people You're like walking into the lunchroom being like sorry guys today's a Meg episode

That is so funny. I love Family Guy. Yeah, it's amazing. It's one of the best comedies we've ever made. You know, when I've been describing Oh Mary to people who are not like tapped into the scene, I've been saying it's kind of like a queer... It has the spirit of like an American dad or family guy. And it's like a reverence, but it's very queer oriented. Even though both of those are pretty... They can get very queer. Like Brian and Roger...

Come on. Okay. And also they have Peter be gay a couple of times. And every time I feel clocked as fuck, they put him in like a crop top and boots. And I'm like, well, that's me, unfortunately. So that's what I look like. So,

I'm trying to get rid of Cola's Cola. You are. Yeah, Cole's a big problem. Too talented. Yeah. Must get them out of here. Yeah, it's powerful. I'm like, you gotta go. You've seen it. You're too good. Yeah. Yeah. You've seen O'Mary? Oh, yeah. Yeah. The ending number was when it was like, okay, it's not funny. You're too good. You're too talented. You need to go. You're too good. No, I love Cole. Yeah. That show's amazing. That honestly has been a big source of inspiration to me lately because I'm like, oh, someone...

I think for just before I saw O'Mary and how well it is doing, I had just been feeling for a little bit like, is anyone doing anything original and good? Is anyone doing anything original and good? Please, God, somewhere. Is there any appetite for someone writing something original, not based on existing IP, not a fucking Marvel movie? Is there any appetite in the general public for something original and funny and wonderful? And then I saw O'Mary, and it is all of those things, and it's brilliant, and I think Cole is such a genius in...

And... To see people love it... I was like... Thank God. Yes. Thank God there's an appetite for this. Do you know what I mean? Yeah. For it to be embraced like that... Is huge. I also think that goes back to the live thing. Like...

They went about it in a way that was just bypassing all of the gatekeepers. And now they're on Broadway. Now they're on Broadway. I love that. I love that. I love it. I love it too. Would you ever act on stage? Yeah, I would. Yeah. If someone would let me? Let me, y'all. I would. I've never done it. I've never done like a play or a musical. Have you? The last time I did one was in college. And it was a play called...

zipped and pelted it was by this playwright Lucas Baish I don't know if I'm saying his last name correctly but I just found out recently like I think he's in New York now I haven't seen him like since then but is he a white guy no damn um I realized how that sounds

But I was going to say, if it's a white guy person, you can always mess up the name and it's okay. Oh, right, right, right. So I was really like on your side. I know. No, it was problematic. It was very problematic. I'm sorry. Of course, it doesn't look too good on me saying it's a white guy. Oh, it was about furries. It was about, there was a gas attack on a furry convention and I played a furry who was like,

Not 100% sure if they wanted to be a furry or not. So most of the play, I only had the neck down of my first suit on. But we were, we did this play. It was a part of the Chicago Fringe Festival. And it was in this gymnasium in like a,

attic situation of this huge public rec center place easily was like 95 degrees in there. And we're all wearing full fursuits. I really got a lot of respect for the furry community after that. They're really... They're dedicated and they're mobilized. They're mobilized. And they...

the hacking that they do. Did you see that the other day? They hacked something really important. Yeah, like, I think they're gonna save us. They hacked, um, like, some Republicans who were involved in Project 2025. Huge. They, like, hacked their IP and found out that some of the people who were involved in the project had, like,

IPs in different countries and shit like that and that it wasn't like fully American but it was something really really crazy I those fursuits are also not cheap like they're expensive as hell they ball the fuck out they're expensive as hell like they're tapped in they're connected they're powerful you ever hooked up with a furry?

Not that I know of. Once for me. Really? No, the costume was not involved. Okay. Per my request. But you know what? Sex was great. I believe it. He was great. I believe it. Shout out. That's a level of self-actualization that most people never reach. I think, yeah, I think you're willing to be a furry. You know yourself. Yes. You're strong in the self. You're rooted in yourself. Yeah. Like, you're not externally. You have to know before you can become a hawk.

Or a fox, or whatever your fursona is, you have to know the human first. I'm saying. That's deep. Furries, hey. Put that in the final draft. Put that in the final draft. Yes, yes. Let's get in the... We should be writing in here. We should. We shouldn't even be doing a podcast. Yeah, come on. We should be collabing on a script. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I should be sending a collab code to you. Come on. What are we doing? What are we doing? What are we doing? I don't know. What should we be doing? I don't know. Maybe we should be...

What do you feel like? Like, what's the vehicle for us? Like, road trip comedy? If somebody's brave enough to put us in a road trip comedy, I fear how well it would do. I know. I do see it. I see that for us. I see it for us. A kind of plane trains and automobiles moment. Yes. Hey, you said it. From your lips to an exec's ears. From my lips to an exec's ears. That's the name of the episode. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

Wait, I have a question for you. Yes. Well, I ask people on this show, what is so true to you? What is so true? What's something that's so true to you? So true. What's a hill you would die on? A hill that I would die on. A thing you believe in passionately. Ooh. You know, it's something that I, it's a so true that would have been a so false to me, like maybe seven years ago. These are the good ones. That it is not your location, it's you.

say more i think uh i when i lived in l.a i was such like l.a fucking sucks i hate l.a blah blah blah but like of course it sucks because i went into it with that energy so i wasn't trying to make that happen for me i was looking for examples of why la suck you know what i mean i think now that i'm a little bit older and i have perspective

The odds are stacked against you for having a good time in LA. Yeah. But that doesn't mean that you can't. Yeah. I think for me, it's easier to have a good time in New York. But also there have been times where like New York was not giving for me, but it was because of me, you know? Yeah. I think it's, it's you, wherever you go, there you are. That's not like a new thought, but it is so true. It's painfully true. That is so true. Yeah.

I have very, very often said, probably several times on this show, about L.A. L.A. is a wonderful city. It's one of the greatest cities in the world. It literally has an incredible population of very diverse, cool people who do all kinds of different stuff. You can see 27 different types of trees in a day. There is beauty in L.A. to be found if you can stop being a narcissistic sociopath, like I have done and like many of us have done. L.A. is beautiful. There's mountains. There's an ocean. There's an incredible food scene. It's a lovely city. Mm-hmm.

However, most of us who end up talking about L.A. and thinking about L.A., we go there and project all of our dreams onto it. And so it becomes a physical site of disappointment when you don't love your writer's room or you don't get cast in the thing or you do and the production sucks or it's not reviewed well or whatever. So it becomes this physical site of disappointment because you projected all your dreams onto it instead of just letting it be a cool city. I love L.A. Wherever you go, there you are. Me and my friend Kevin talk all the time about this phenomenon that we call Randomly Wish I Was in Paris.

And randomly wish I was in Paris is where I'll be having a perfectly lovely day in New York or Kansas City. I'm having a lovely day. There's nothing wrong. I'm enjoying myself. I went out of my way to be here. I took a flight. I made sure I was here. And for no reason, I wish I was somewhere else. I'll go, oh, I wish I was in Paris today. For what? You'd be having the same exact day. You wouldn't be at the Eiffel Tower. No, it's really crazy too, especially now that I've been traveling more.

Brooklyn is everywhere. Yeah. Brooklyn is everywhere. Mexico City is Brooklyn at this point. Yes. Yeah. Like there's a Brooklyn coffee shop anywhere you go. Yeah. People talk so much shit about flyover states. I was in Little Rock. It was Brooklyn in Little

in Little Rock? Yeah. It was Brooklyn and Richmond. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. There's Brooklyn everywhere. Like, it's really not that special. Granted, sometimes it's like 2011 Brooklyn. Right. Like, there's like a geometric wolf on the wall with a mustache. No. But like, Shabuki, I am begging you to stop. That is so fucking funny. Like, geometric wolf with a mustache.

I know you've seen the geometric It's 10 years behind Williamsburg It is I can't wait for when it catches up to Bushwick And there's people with like Sigil tattoos and shit And like Athens, Georgia I'm really Probably is already happening I don't know Well you know it's interesting now though Because a lot of the coastal culture Is borrowing from the Midwest and the South Yes Like Jorts and Carhartt and Kimmel and stuff How do you feel about that? I am

at once terrified and comforted do you know what i mean like yes like i'm scared as fuck yes that you're wearing that yes you're in real tree 100 what are y'all doing in real what's happening who told you about that you know how when trump won and everybody was wearing those little safety pins to be like i'm safe yeah we need to start doing that again really because the red state cosplay is getting too intense so you can wear the real tree shirt but you have to put a safety yes or like i i feel like

Gay men do it. Then they do it right. Where there's like something a little f***y about it where it's like, okay, I know who you are. And I feel, I get it now. But then there's some people where I'm like, this feels aspirational to you. You want to be. Yeah. Like you want to be. And look, it's okay that your mom is a neurosurgeon and your dad is a college professor. You wish you had some struggle. Right. Like live in your truth. Live in your truth. I'm not going to lie. I think that that aesthetic is a means of like...

I don't know, portraying some sort of struggle for people who don't have access to it. Yeah. 100%. It's not new, like the poor cosplay shit, but it's like, it's very self-convinced now. It doesn't, I feel like they're going so deep. That's really interesting. Yeah. My favorite part of it is when gay guys put on like a camo shirt and they're like, in my mascara. Sweetie, let me hold your hand when I say this.

Let me hold your hand when I tell you, you are not in your mask era. Not now, not ever. No. Baby girl. I saw someone do that recently and post a poll on like Instagram and like it was like 80%. No. No. They're like, am I giving trade? Is it DL trade? And they're like, no. Am I giving trade? No.

Trade? Trading what? It's not giving barter. It's not giving... It's nothing economical about it at all. I want you... It's not giving trade. It's not giving barter. It's not... The only thing you need to trade is you need to swap out the delusion that you live in for the reality that the rest of us are in. My mask era, I swear to God, these

I, by the way, the notes for this show every single week are just my very straight producer. Like, you know, we have like the edits. It's just him being like, two minutes, 13 seconds, mute. Three minutes, 17 seconds, mute.

Like it's just mute F slur 500 times. Right, right. These... I... You in that camo sweatshirt. Listen to me. God, pray with me. Y'all are not mask. Your hips are betraying you. Yes. Your wrist is betraying you. Yes. You are a fruity little queen. And God bless. Tighten up the wrist, babe. Babe. Tighten up the wrist. There's so many things we need to do before we get in to the cowboy boots. 100%. Listen, and I'll do that sometimes. I'll do it. But...

I'm not. It's camp. I'm not. When anything I do that might seem off is camp. Right, right. Let's be very clear. Right. When I do it, it's intentional. It's winking. It's a nod. It's genius. It's elevated. But when they do it, it's like, come on. It's delusional. When they do it, it's village people. Right. Take that construction vest off. I think that we do need to start going that far, though. I saw someone yesterday who had a bullet. Like, it wasn't bullets. It was like that, like...

- They were open carrying? - Yeah. - You're like, I love that. - No, for a second I was like, yes. - Okay, please. - Let's do this, let's do this. Like militarize the family.

Yes. But then it was actually that like, you remember in 2009 when everything had spikes on it? Yeah. It was that. Okay. It looked, it was like almost bullets. Yeah. But I saw that and I was like, this is an amazing development. Wow. That's actually interesting. What if we arm gay people? I think. And let them think that they're masculine. We're not too far off from that. We could do this. I think gays are going to start open carrying. I think it would be really honestly probably for the.

I think maybe I do think it might be for the best I think it might be kind of good I do know some gay people that have gotten into guns that are like guns are now my I'm gonna do a gun thing I'm not gonna lie I shot something and it was really fun I've been shooting guns my whole life really? you grew up doing it? grew up shooting guns whoa are you good?

I am. Whoa. I have a really good shot. I haven't shot a gun in years and years and years. But I, yeah, I like won. I also did archery when I was a kid. Really? I won archery competitions. What? Yeah. We did that in gym class. Really? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Damn. Our first, like, when I went to high school, your first...

gym class in your first quarter of gym is just like juggling, archery. Roller skating ever? You know what? Almost. I'm surprised we didn't because our teacher was like an old lesbian. And yes, yes. She was iconic. But it was like clown activity. Like it was clown school basically. They were like, you're not bullying each other. You're all going to look stupid. You're all going to juggle these scarves. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Literally. Okay, so we're doing an action comedy. You and me? Yeah, that's what we're doing. Okay, two gay guys who...

Pretend to be masked and accidentally end up in a militia. Yes, yes. I think that that's perfect. They accidentally become proud boys. Civil War II. Civil War II. Yeah. Hey, I have a segment for you. Okay, what's up? If you can believe it. So this is a true-false segment. All right. Okay? Basically what's going to happen is... And I'll let you know, Devin, who was in here before you, as you know, he did not do very well. All right. Devin, I love you, King, but it was tough. So basically...

It's a true-false segment where I'm going to read you like 15 statements. You're going to tell me as quickly as you can if you think they're true or false. Just answer true or false. Okay. And if you get 10 or more correct, I am going to give you 50 U.S. dollars. Okay. 50 U.S. dollars. And it's not nothing. That's not a small amount. It's not nothing. You ready? Okay. Okay. Ronald McDonald was a real person. True. False. The 19th...

The 1984 film Red Dawn was the first movie to be rated PG-13. True. True. Barry Manilow wrote State Farms like a good neighbor jingle. False. That's true. The state bird of Illinois is the swallow. False. False. Do you know what it is? Red Robin? The Northern Cardinal. Very close. The Statue of Liberty wears a size 879 shoe. 879 shoe. True. That's true. The official drink of Kentucky is bourbon.

False. False. It's milk. Michelle Obama is an only child. True. False. She has one brother. Wasps can live up to three years. False. False. 22 days. A newborn giant panda is about the size of a stick of butter. Oh, true. Oh, true. Olive Garden was founded in Rome, Italy. False. False. Orlando, Florida. The first pair of Nike running shoes was made in a waffle iron. True. That's true. There are no volcanoes in Alaska. False.

True. False. There are over 100. Kiki Palmer was born in Joliet, Illinois. False. False. It's Harvey. Yes, yes, yes. The most popular Father's Day gift is a necktie. True. True. The dot over a lowercase i is called a peck. True. False. A tittle. Oh. You got 10. You got it, baby. What? You did it. Yes, yes, yes. You got 10. Congratulations. The animal ones. The animal ones. I love me some animal facts. Big for you. And the Harvey, the Harvey, Illinois lore. You threw me that one. Hey.

I didn't write these. Chance wrote these. Thank Chance. He's not here, but tell him thank you. Thank you. Okay, Chance also has some questions in here for you. Well, this is actually interesting. So, the internet. Yes. You were big on Twitter. I was. You were big on Twitter. Rest in peace. Rest in peace. What do you think of the internet and comedy? It's such a huge thing. I could talk about this for like three days. As could I.

We were both big on Twitter, you before me and in a much larger scale. We were both big on Twitter when it meant something. Yes. Which is really interesting. Right. Because now it means nothing. It means nothing at all. But for a moment there... It scares people now. It scares people now. Yeah. But there was a second there where being big on Twitter and comedy... Whoa. ...was the only thing. 100%. It was like, oh my God. If you weren't doing that, then it didn't matter. That's all it was. And it's crazy because that reign was like 10 years kind of. Yeah. Like it was a long time. There was a long tradition like...

Drill, Rob Delaney, Megan Amram. Boom, boom, boom, boom. Yeah, there was so many. I think the thing with internet comedy and the challenge that it brings to comedy now is never in human history have people consumed so many jokes in one day. Yeah. Never. Like...

Even when you talk to logged off people, the way that they will just wholeheartedly laugh at something that will almost inspire rage in you at how basic it is. I can't look at that with anything but awe because it's crazy what it's doing to our brains the way that we consume comedy. I think there's this weird relationship to it where you kind of have to do it now. It's like a prerequisite almost to really...

gain an audience as a comedian because all of the traditional channels have kind of eroded because they're like well what's your following whenever you get to those channels so they're expecting you to come with all of the you know artist development already done for yourself with an audience as well a dedicated audience yes with a dedicated audience dedicated artist development and then also the other thing is too is that when you look at like mega mega mega viral people who are funny online like Idrouski like

why would he cut his teeth doing day player roles in like a blockbuster? You know, like that's weirdly almost beneath him in a way. Also for a lot of these internet people, why would they really ever do a movie? Right. It's such a pay cut. Yes. They make every video they post, they make hundreds of thousands of dollars. So much money. Why would they go and work for, why would they do an indie film? Ever. Easily. I would love to, but like, why would they do that? Right. But I think it's also almost like,

For us, we just love the medium and the art form. And that's kind of why we do it. But if we were being business-oriented, that's really like, hey, doing Twitch is going to bring you way more than doing all that other stuff. So I think that there's this weird internet brain drain happening with the industry where I think...

There's more reward. It is a faster reward online. So that's kind of where attention and energy and focus is being put. And I think the industry is trying to catch up to that in a way. But even when they do it, I'm like, that was five years ago. Like, I think the other thing, too.

I see so much stand up and I'm like baby that was hilarious in 2017. That was really funny in 2018. Now we've said it. And you have you're kind of like doing like a Prometheus thing where like you stole fire and you're bringing it to the people who have never seen fire before and they're like oh my god like iced coffee I'm so gay. I'm like we were there. We did it. Yeah we did it. And it's cool that

I don't know like I never the thing is is that I never want to knock what audiences are enjoying because I don't know better than them like they like what they like and I can't tell you what you should be liking yeah I just think that's my job yeah right right that's you that's you but I just want more from the artists I want people to be pushing things forward

Instead of just following behind what has already been said online and just repeating it. And sometimes people don't know, but then there's sometimes where I'm like, I saw that Twitter thread. Like, I know what you're talking about. I saw the same thing you saw when you wrote this joke. Right, right, right. I think that the dynamic between that is...

It's weird. I don't know. What do you think? Oh, well, I think it's net bad. I really do. And it's very funny. I can't remember which one of my friends it was, but somebody dragged me very recently for saying this because they were like, oh, so you get to make a career off of it and then everyone behind you doesn't? Whoa. And I'm like, fantastic point. And also, absolutely. Yes, correct. Yeah, I think it's net bad. I think...

I think it's just, yeah, I think it's really lowered the quality of comedy. I think it's like let in a bunch of people who don't really care that much. Yes. I think also the pivot to live shows that happens where there's no formation in live shows, but then they pivot to live shows after they get a big following is totally fine, except for they don't care for their audience. Yeah. And the only, I really have a disrespect for people, musicians, painters, comedians, anybody who brings people into a physical space and

a disrespect for their time by not preparing or not caring is so fundamentally whack and like crazy to me. Right. Like I really do. Every time someone comes to your show, even if you think it's nothing, if you think the show doesn't matter, they took off work, they bought a ticket, they paid for a babysitter, they got an Uber, they bought two drinks. They might not, they might not be able to get a babysitter for another two or three months. It's their only night out. They went out to an expensive dinner beforehand. They wore their best clothes. Like it,

It really fucking bothers me when people put on a show and don't prepare. Yeah. Someone gave you a day of their life. That's crazy. Yeah. Do you know how crazy that is? And when you add it up in the room, like how many days of life did you just get? Yes. From people. When they could stream a billion movies and TV shows at home. They could go to a billion other live events tonight. They could be with their friends and family. They came to see you on stage with a microphone. That responsibility is so immense. Yeah.

And when people don't prepare and then they're kind of like, well, I don't give a fuck about this. Sorry, sorry, sorry. I'm like, you are so... It actually disgusts me. It repulses me in a way that's almost unhealthy on my part. But I'm just like, how do you not care? I know. At the very least, you have to at least...

show people someone having fun. Yeah. If you aren't really, if you're not great, but you're having an amazing time, sometimes that's enough for people. I'll do it. I'll take that. I'll take that. Like, I don't know. It's the, yeah. That's why if a set doesn't go well, I,

I'm... Oh, my God. Because I carry that. I'm like, wow. Like... I really let people come see that. I really let people come see that. Oh, yeah. Yeah. That doesn't feel... That doesn't feel great. It really is not... Bombing, when I first started out, was so much about my ego and whether or not I... Like, I thought I was good enough at this or the audience didn't respect me or whatever. And...

And now having a bad show is so much less about my ego and more about that. Where I'm like, fuck, I feel really bad that they came out and spent their night on that set where I just didn't nail my closer. Or whatever the fucking thing is. Yeah, but it is, I think, specifically coming from an internet and then pivoting to live because some agent at UTA told you that...

You could sell tickets, you know? Right. It's like, they're right. You can. And they will let you because they love the money and you love the money. But the lack of respect for the live art form, specifically from people who come from the internet, really, it's bothering me. Yeah. I feel that. I agree with that. I really agree with that. But, you know, also, everyone's got to do their thing, I guess. Do what you got to do. Right. I guess I can't ask you to not do stand-up. I think one thing, though, is...

Because I've had that complaint too. I think a lot of the time those people are bringing people into those spaces that would never have gone there in the first place. Yeah. Like they're probably not tapped into comedy like that. They just like this one person. Yeah. And I like to think of it like they are bringing more people in to the fold. Yeah.

Hopefully Into live performance Hopefully they come back Yeah yeah But hopefully they come back That's the But I agree with you I think they're Hopefully They prepare enough And do a good enough job That they do Like widen the tent And bring people in Yeah Who want to come see A live comedy show So many people Have never been to A live comedy show Yeah It's crazy Yeah yeah yeah But yeah hopefully They're bringing in more people And they do a good enough job To like warrant a return That is the hope Yeah

But then, you know, there's the fear that like they brought them out and these people are going to go, I don't think live comedy is my thing. Yeah. Stand up isn't that good. Stand up low key sucks. You know, and then they're like, I don't think I ever need to go back to zanies. Yeah. Yeah. I think I'm good. I'll skip that.

Oh, God. Do you like performing in clubs? I feel like you do like the Sleeping Village. That's, yeah. Yeah. I'm more over there. I feel that. I love performing in a music venue. Yeah. Love performing in a music venue. I do, too. There's something about it that just feels so right. So right. Most of my fans...

are lesbians. Yeah. And I knew that that's why I wore these. And thank you. And they'll love that. Yeah. Most of my fans have not been to a comedy show. I will say like mine will be their first one. Yeah. And so I like to, I like to send them somewhere cool if I can. That's good. Yeah. Meet them where they're at. Yeah. Sometimes when, cause I have that experience too. And I bring them to a comedy club. It can be very foreign to them. They're like, what am I doing here?

What am I doing at this healing home? Right, right. I want to meet them halfway. Like, you know, maybe you could have seen Mitski here in 2017. Like, I want to give that. Be in that energy tonight. Right, right. You can be gay here. Don't worry. Exactly, exactly. Yeah, but you make money at those comedy clubs. You do. Goddamn, the markets are good. I just don't know why they all have to be carnival themed. Yeah. Why do they all have the orange and purple stripes? Yeah, ultimately, no offense to them. Thank y'all for having me. But the fact that I performed at a place called Hyena's.

twice recently and there's like a howling wolf it's like okay really like a cartoon wolf for sure why wouldn't he be yeah and calling the place hyenas is like damn yeah that's really it's a little it's a little insulting yeah how did that show go they were lovely the show was great the audience was lovely the staff was lovely thank you for having me hyenas fort worth and dallas i love your work but i would love i would encourage a name change if possible right right right and

And I, you know, if you don't. What would the name change be? Maybe like Caleb's. Caleb's. Yeah. I like that. Caleb's Comedy Club. Yeah. Caleb's Comedy Club. Okay. Could be fun. C-C-K. The Caleb Room? Or you could do them all with a K. TCR? Yeah, I could do them all with a K. That'd be really interesting. Take it back. Reclaim it. Like those chicken places in the South? They're like crunchy chicken with a K and you're like, uh-oh. That's close. How come, I wonder? This is not how it's spelled, is it?

Hey, I have something for you. Let's do it. Here's a question for you. Okay. When you were eight years old... Yes. You almost drowned at Jesus Camp? Yeah. What is that about? Whoa. Okay, so... Tell me that. I was eight years old. I was at Jesus Camp. And so...

I got to go to the Jesus camp because my... I was allowed to attend. I got the privilege of going to Jesus camp because I was one of Jesus' special little soldiers. But my godmother was the camp nurse. So the camp was actually like 10 and above. You were a nepo baby. Yeah, I was kind of Jesus camp nepo baby. Yeah. And...

I had like a chip on my shoulder, okay? Because I was a tiny kid. And then I also was eight years old. So I really needed to prove myself. We were at the pool and we were playing Marco Polo. And the ball went into the deep end. And I was like, oh, no, no, no, guys. Like, I got it. I got it. Like, you know, I'm like, I can hang. I'm like one of you guys. And they were like, you sure? And I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah, I got it. And I was thinking, I was like, okay, so you've seen TV. When people swim, they just go like.

That kind of. And they do, like, yeah, the doggy paddle. So just, like, do this and then you're good. So then I'm going over to the deep end. And as I'm going over, like, a fight broke out or something like that. So I go to reach for the ball and then just, like, slip under. And I, like, am drowning and trying to get someone's attention. And no one was looking. And I was like, damn, well...

That's it. This has been so real, y'all. Yeah. And then I was like, okay, cool. All right. Peace out. But then I remember when I was sinking, I was like,

wait i'm going to heaven like i haven't done shit yeah i'm eight years old like no sins not you being at peace drowning in the pool i seriously i know my path right i was like i'm good like baby lift me up like i'm ready i'm i'm at jesus camp like what a better place to die like jesus knows what i was just about to do i was about to pray yeah and then he stopped me so like hey so then um a

Like blacked out. And then I woke up on the side of the pool to the lifeguard, like giving me mouth to mouth and resuscitating me. And then I turned gay. It was a guy. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. There was a really hot lifeguard at my pool. Really? A really hot guy. I distinctly remember he was like,

18. Like he was like a high school, he was like a high school senior about to leave. But there were two summers that he was like the head lifeguard at the pool and he was so hot and he loved me for some reason. Like he just like loved talking to me. We would like sit and chat. And I literally, I just remember every time he talked to me, I was like,

I'm gonna die if I have to keep talking to this guy. I didn't know what it was, but I was like, I'm so uncomfortable by him and I also need to be near him at all times. I was like, if this hot guy keeps talking to me, I'm gonna explode and die. And I just remember his girlfriend was also a lifeguard and I hated her. Yeah. For some reason, you didn't know why. I couldn't figure out why because she was perfectly, like literally she was so nice to me and every time she was nice to me, I was just like,

And I would try to float the theory to other kids at the pool, like when we would go to the concession stand, I'd be like, do you guys feel like Rachel's kind of a bitch? Kind of thing, and they would be like, no, she's like awesome. She's actually really sweet. But don't you think she's like, she's like fakey about it? They're like, Caleb, she saved you from drowning last week. Yeah, yeah. And you're like, yeah, but there was a way that she went about it. I'm like, no, she's lovely, but she moves weird, right? And they're like, no.

Couldn't figure it out. I hated her. They probably knew too. Probably. I was like the gayest kid ever. Really? I was such a little homo. Yeah, I was so, I've always just been like this. Like animated and annoying. You know? It's like, of course I was gay. But I never, I don't know really what happened with him, to be honest. I don't know where he is in the world. Maybe he's listening. If you're out there, dude whose name I don't remember, I want to say his name was like Kale or like Cade.

He had a C or a K name as well. Imagine his name was Caleb. Caleb. Yeah, this is fully I imagined it. It's just me. I'm like, I was in love with myself actually. It was a mirage. Honestly, it would be huge. Jibiki, thank you so much for coming on. Hey, thank you for having me. We did it. Can you believe it? We did. Is there anything you want to plug to the people? I am performing at New York Comedy Festival November 15th.

In November. In November. Yeah. Yeah. And they can follow you on everything. Yeah. And you can follow me on everything. At Jaboukie. At Jaboukie. Except on. Oh my God. Except on TikTok. I'm fake Jaboukie because somebody thought it would be funny to take Jaboukie.

And also, I ran into this person's friends one day on the street and they were like, haha, our friend has a username. And I was like, okay, yeah, tell him to give it to me. I want to kill your friend. Okay, right. I was like, tell him to give it to me. And then they like FaceTimed him and he did not give it back to me. He doesn't even post on it anymore. I just want to say this. Do you know how hard it has been to have the name Jaboukie for 30 years? This is the one thing that I could have. I'm talking directly to you. I know you're on TikTok and I know one of your friends will probably fucking see this. Give me my name back, okay? Okay.

I'm not playing. Hey, truthers, I want every single one of you listening to this right now. I'm so dead-ass serious. There are a lot of you. Go to at Jaboukie on TikTok and spam them with messages about how inappropriate it is. Yes, it's fucked up. That they have Jaboukie's name. It's fucked up. We need it back. This is what I want from this episode. Yes, thank you. Thank you. There were three years of my life where I was called Jadoukie.

That's not right. I had to survive that. This is new to you. You don't have the strength to carry that name. They're new to it. You're new to it. I'm true to it. By the way, give us the handle. Fake Jaboukie. Do I get a cut? If we get the handle back from this segment, do I get something? Yeah, I'll give you the $50 back. That's it? Damn, I thought it was worth so much more to you.

We can negotiate. Cool. We'll talk about fine. Yeah. Well, my lawyers. Okay. Yeah. Have your people hit my people. I'm going to have my lawyers hit you. Not your lawyers. I'm going to have my lawyers hit you. Directly. Directly. With a threat. With a threat. Just keep people. Yeah. Keep people on their toes. We're out of here. Thank you. All right. Thanks for doing it. Thank you.